cpu upgrade

[abletudu]

I currently have an i3-3220 cpu lga1155 socket and I am thinking of buying an i7-2600 lga 1155 socket cpu on amazon brand new including the heatsink for $100.

Would this be a good idea?

[abletudu]

Първоначално публикувано от hawkeye:

OP plays cities skylines which doesn't run well on any socket 1155. And a new version is on the way. There are i7-6700 systems for $80 in my country. Even so, a 12/13th gen would be better buy if OP could afford it.

I am retired and living on social security and small veterans benefit so I can't really afford much, That CPU I listed was found on Amazon and it is the CPU and heat sink & fan.

I don't really like MMOs or war type games. I mainly like builders, mysteries, or puzzles.

I since found one on amazon for $44.00 without heat sink (listing says refurbished eventhough I don't understand how you can refurbish a CPU). If I purchase that can I use the heat sink I already have on my i3-3220 or would I have to buy a new one?

https://www.amazon.com/Intel-i7-2600-Desktop-Processor-SR00B/dp/B07NXBYYS8/ref=sr_1_15?crid=2YUXVWYAX5298&keywords=i7-2600+lga+1155+socket+cpu&qid=1685011548&sprefix=i7-2600+lga+1155+socket+cpu%2Caps%2C70&sr=8-15

[deadshooter]

Bad idea. OP, you should find used i7-3770 (Ivy Bridge) or Xeon E3 1230v2. This should be around 25 bucks. Recommended fan - any tower with 100 watt TDP, should be about 15 bucks new. I'm using Gammax 300, which is more than enough for this one.

[deadshooter]

Ah, forgot about one thing - don't use i7-2600, those second gen intels using only PCI-E bus of revision 2.0, which will ruin performance of your GPU, even some crappy one like RX 460

[hawkeye]

A heatsink and fan are one unit called a cooler. There is just the cpu and a cooler. However if you take the cooler off to remove the cpu then you will need to clean off the thermal paste on the cooler to reuse it and apply new paste, which you'll need to have or obtain. $5 for a tube.

There may be a manual for the mobo on the manufacturer's website that you can download which will show you what to do.

I have an i7-2600 and it works for most games except the heavier titles like Cities Skylines. Personally, I wouldn't buy one.

If the cpu is in China, don't buy it.

Първоначално публикувано от deadshooter:

Ah, forgot about one thing - don't use i7-2600, those second gen intels using only PCI-E bus of revision 2.0, which will ruin performance of your GPU, even some crappy one like RX 460

That's incorrect - pcie 1, 2 and 3 have identical performance.

[Illusion of Progress]

Първоначално публикувано от abletudu:

I am retired and living on social security and small veterans benefit so I can't really afford much, That CPU I listed was found on Amazon and it is the CPU and heat sink & fan.

If this is the case, it's all the more reason not to buy something that is a poor price for what it is. When you're limited on funds, you need to make what you spend count more.

I'm not sure how much you'd have to "play with" but consider this as an example.

https://pcpartpicker.com/list/pX4C3y

There's an ~$25 savings you can get too with a cheaper board, but the reason I chose that is slighter better VRM, B550 chipset instead of A520 chipset so you get PCI Express 4.0 which MIGHT become a concern for the lower end/low mid-range GPUs I imagine you'd be looking at, which these days are trending towards cuttings lanes, and it has 4 RAM slots, which would help you maybe upgrade to 32 GB later without having to replace all the RAM).

A 10th generation Core i3 might be even cheaper maybe (but a bit slower per core, and 50% less cores/threads, so it'd have to be closer to $180 or less to make me consider it over the above).

If what hawkeye pointed out is true (playing Cities Skylines) then a faster CPU per core will benefit a lot. It doesn't seem to benefit from a high amount of cores much. A lot of RAM helps when playing with a lot of expansion/mod content (this is where a 4 slot motherboard may help make a future RAM upgrade cheaper if that need arises). Sounds a LOT like Minecraft basically. Per core speed and RAM over core count and GPU.

You need to consider too that anything older than the eighth generation on Intel's side, and the Ryzen 2000 series on AMD's side, are ultimately "on a clock" in the Windows ecosystem as they are not officially supported by Windows 11 (and when Windows 12 comes, it's unlikely they will support older than that either). You can ignore this requirements but there's no telling if they will ever have issues going forward, and staying on Windows 10 after it loses support wouldn't be advised, and the last thing you would need is to have an unexpectedly issue like that come up when you might not be able to replace it fast, so best to prepare ahead of time and just get something formally supported.

If the Core i3 3220 is still serving you okay, I'd stick with it and save the money for an upgrade before Windows 10 loses support (you have two and a half years as that is October 2025). $40+ for a used 2600 is... eh. It's not awful but it's only a meaningful upgrade for adding cores/threads; it otherwise won't be faster and yeah it's a few hundred MHz faster boost (only at low core loads) but that it somewhat erased by going backwards a generation. I'm not saying the extra cores/threads won't be useful because in 2023 a dual core is probably lacking in cores/threads, but at the same time if you've stuck with it this long I'm presuming you don't do much that seriously needs a ton of threads. Just the way I'd look at it. I'd try and avoid necessary costs into the current one as it would help speed up a proper replacement.

[deadshooter]

Първоначално публикувано от hawkeye:

That's incorrect - pcie 1, 2 and 3 have identical performance.

that was a part of my expirience, drivers were unstable under 2.0 mode

[Overseer]

I also don't understand why the cooler is so important if you already have one. You can just swap the CPU and keep the current cooler. Check if the board supports a 3770 and get one used for cheap. Anything else is just a waste of time.
Buying 11 years old hardware brand new is something for collectors, not practical use. Especially when you can get an entire PC with 3770K for under 200 bucks nowadays.

[GOD RAYS ON ULTRA™]

Първоначално публикувано от hawkeye:

That's incorrect - pcie 1, 2 and 3 have identical performance.

This comment is kinda dumb, ain't gonna lie. Also, just because you are unable to achieve a playable frame rate in city skylines doesn't mean that we can't. Some of us have more PC discipline and can run PCs faster than you think.

Someone with a lower level of PC discipline however will launch a game, see the fps, then quit the game and launch it on a more powerful computer without even trying anything. There's many adjustments to be made in these situations and just simply running more powerful ♥♥♥♥ is no fun and show zero discipline.

[deadshooter]

tried Citites Skylines on my i7-3770 - 55-60 fps @1080p high settings. This was a starter city, not a huge one. Have zero idea how it will work with megapolis

[zexx11]

get the 2600k. you can overclock to at least 4.4 ghz on a good air cooler.

im still using mine.

[Introverted Gamer]

No Such Thing as Brand New, unless unsold stock which is extremely rare more likely a collectors item. You can get these old CPU way cheaper on Aliexpress.

[Raoul]

Първоначално публикувано от zexx11:

get the 2600k. you can overclock to at least 4.4 ghz on a good air cooler.

im still using mine.

He'd need a P67, Z68 or Z77 chipset motherboard then it would be worth going with a 2600K/2700K/3770K instead as significant performance difference running an all core oc on them but would have to find a cheap one probably some on ebay?

[deadshooter]

Първоначално публикувано от Raoul:

Първоначално публикувано от zexx11:

get the 2600k. you can overclock to at least 4.4 ghz on a good air cooler.

im still using mine.

He'd need a P67, Z68 or Z77 chipset motherboard then it would be worth going with a 2600K/2700K/3770K instead as significant performance difference running an all core oc on them but would have to find a cheap one probably some on ebay?

overclocker's MB's for s1155 are still valuable - about $100, so this won't be a cheap upgrade

[abletudu]

My motherboard is a Z77 chipset with a LGA1155 socket, so any CPU I buy would have to fit that.

[_I_]

i would look into a new cpu/mobo/ram combo
even a newer i3 or pentium g would be better than a 1155 i7

will be around $200
https://pcpartpicker.com/list/W7GsyK